Difference between revisions of "Newest For Sharing Reviews"

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[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
 
[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]__NOTOC__
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=When Angus Met Alvin
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|author=Adam Stower
|author=Sue Pickford
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|title=Murray and Bun
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Confident Readers
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|summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two.  But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs.  This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…
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|isbn=0008561249
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1732898766
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|title=The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon
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|author=Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Angus is not like other aliens. He is a peace-loving little fellow, who likes nothing better than sitting in his garden watching the flowers grow and sipping a nice cup of tea. Unfortunately, one day, a strange spaceship crash lands in his garden and out pops a cheeky, hyperactive green alien called Alvin who is rather a show-off. It’s time for Angus to teach Alvin a lesson about manners. Can the two aliens put their differences aside and become friends in the end?
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|summary=When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute.  Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them. He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils.  (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.)  Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped. They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847803040</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|title=Secrets of the Seashore
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|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|author=Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
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|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
|rating=4
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|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary=This book starts in a rock pool. It’s not a boring, quiet, calm place, though, it’s bustling with life, and with every page that turns we learn more about the mysterious creatures that live within it. You might not see them at first, but with a hint of magic they appear.
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|summary=Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline. On top of the ice was a polar bear.  As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice.  Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another.  He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782401105</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913839656
|title=Tilly's At Home Holiday
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|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
|author=Gillian Hibbs
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|author=Lainey Dee
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Tariq is going to IndiaChanel is going to Spain. And Paris, of course, is going to ParisPoor Tilly.  She’s not going anywhere. Not even to Grandma’s. Mum thinks that they can still enjoy themselves at home. Tilly’s not so sure. Can a visit to the library, the swimming pool, the park and a market really be as much fun as a proper holiday?
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|summary=Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juiceHe packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmotherShe had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends.  At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be.  Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184643596X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529504775
|title=The Ice Bear
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|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|author=Jackie Morris
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Long, long ago in the mists of time in an icy and barren landscape a bear gives birth to two cubs. While curled up close together the raven tricks the bear and steals one of the cubs away. The mother bear grieves and never forgets her loss. However the raven drops the bundle in the path of a hunter and he and his wife discover a longed for child. Seven years pass and the child wanders from his home and finds himself back in the land of the bears. He loves both families and both families love him so they must find a way to resolve this dilemma and learn to live together in harmony.
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|summary=Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past.  Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult.  One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home. Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it.  Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847804578</amazonuk>
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529504767
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|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
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|rating=5
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|genre=For Sharing
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|summary=Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination. She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her.  She even had her own room - all to herself.  Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning.
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1916459943
|title=This Is Me Eating
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|title=Squeakily Baby
|author=Neal Layton
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|author=Beth Webb
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Babies love books and babies love eating, so a book about eating is bound to be a hit with the toddler brigade. This book comes to life the moment you pick it up and feel like someone is watching you. As the cover baby’s eyes roll ominously from side to side you feel a frisson of excitement. What more fun is hidden within the pages?
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|summary=Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby.  He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and ''wails''. The sea offers to help.  It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing ''hush, hush''.  Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - ''la lou, la lay...''  And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes.  Then a seagull '''shouts''' and we know exactly what's going to happen next.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406349445</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=140639131X
|title=Boom, Baby, Boom, Boom!
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|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|author=Margaret Mahy and Margaret Chamberlain
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|author=Briony May Smith
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Aeroplane noises, choo-choo sounds, demonstrations of mouth opening wide. I’ve heard them all suggested to help with weaning reluctant baby eaters. Never though, has it crossed my mind to bang a drum set whilst lunch time is in session. Not even at my lowest point, when I made the rookie error of crouching to pick up dropped food enabling baby to lovingly ruffle my hair with his sweet, tiny, and Weetabix concreted fingers, did this occur to me. Obviously I’m not as cool a Mama as the Mama in 'Boom, Baby, Boom Boom!'…
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|summary=Philippa Pheasant was ''tired'' of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road. She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself.  Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious.  All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847804101</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574338
|title=Shh! We Have a Plan
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|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|author=Chris Haughton
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|author=Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When four friends go out together to hunt a bird they have a specific plan in mind as to how they will do it. One of the friends, however, isn't really in on the plan and is just tagging along for the fun of it, and he finds himself getting shushed along the way each time he shouts out 'hello birdy!'
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|summary=Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes.  Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck.  It's perfect, isn't it? What could be a more fun way of going to school?  There is a problem, though.  Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up.  The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406342327</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574028
|title=So What!
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|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
|author=Tracey Trussell and Neil Price
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|author=David Elliott
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Girls can be horrid sometimes. You know how it is - one girl in the playground says quite innocently that their mum bought them some new sandals at the weekend and another, louder, bigger, bossier one says 'so what!And then perhaps every time that quieter girl opens her mouth to say something the other girl is there to shout her down with a 'so what!'  This book captures those feelings, and demonstrates a way to deal with any 'so what' nonsense that comes your way!
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|summary=I love a good board book! ''Bumblebee Grumblebee'' is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can ''play'' with words and make something quite different from each one.  We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a ''balletphant''. The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a ''fluffalo''.  The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a ''crynoceros'' (think about it!)  The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a ''sm.......'OK, let's not go there  Some people are eating!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909428191</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1838226834
 +
|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
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|author=Ed Boxall
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|rating=4
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|genre=For Sharing
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|summary=It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun.  A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:
  
{{newreview
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''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
|title=Barbapapa's Ark
 
|author=Annette Tison and Talus Taylor
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
 
|summary=''Barbapapa’s Ark'' is the fourth book in the popular series about a shape-shifting pink blob, his wife and seven children. It follows on from the previous book, in which Barbapapa and his family built themselves a beautiful house in a peaceful valley. One day, after a picnic, the family decide to take a leisurely ride along the river, but are horrified to see sick and injured animals suffering from the effects of pollution. Over time, more and more animals come to Barbapapa for help. He decides that the only way to teach the humans a lesson is to take the animals to a new, green planet where they will be safe.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408331381</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
|title=A First Book of Nature
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|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
|author=Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld
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|author=Cordellya Smith
|rating=5
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|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=There is a difference between a book for children that the kids themselves will like and one that adults will like.  A more mature person may like some interesting illustrations or imaginative story, but most of the children I know are happy just to see some dinosaurs in their pants.  However, there are books that transcend this and can appeal to both groups.  Books that may have slightly dry reading for the very young, but illustrations that will transfix and amaze – introducing ‘A First Book of Nature’ written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Hearld.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140634916X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Grandma
 
|author=Jessica Shepherd
 
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Oscar loves his Grandma very much so it’s scary and frightening when she starts forgetting things and acting differently. She has to go and live somewhere else and it smells funny and is full of new people.
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|summary=When the world was made, the animals were given gifts.  Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector.  Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn.  Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present ''and'' the future.  Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately,  not the ability to use it well.  He liked to trick other animals. He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle.  You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see.  Things are not always as they seem.  I'll tell you how it came about.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846435978</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Rob Keeley
|title=The Way To The Zoo
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|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
|author=John Burningham
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|rating= 4
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=It’s easy to lie in bed and see shadows on the wall and imagine what they could be. I still do it now though I know better than to think something that looks like, say, a door in the wall, might be a portal to another universe. Sylvie, though, wants to double check when SHE sees what looks like a door and it’s just as well she does, because lo and behold it IS a door and it DOES lead somewhere. It goes all the way to the zoo! All the animals look nice and friendly so because it’s getting late and she has school in the morning, Sylvie heads back to bed and invites a little bear to come with her for the night. She has her own real live teddy. What fun.
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|summary= Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406348406</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09HHN541V
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|title=Mrs. Mo's Monster
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|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
|author=Paul Beavis
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|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=What would you do if you answered the door one day, only to find a mini monster standing there?  Most of us wold probably weep a little and find somewhere to hide, but not the brave Mrs Mo.  She appears to know this monster and will do anything to keep him entertained. Will he help round the house?  Nope?  How about baking a cake?  That may just get anybody’s attention, but will this book capture your little monster’s imagination?
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|summary=''For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1927271002</amazonuk>
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{{newreview
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And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that ''she'' can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it!
|title=A Day At The Airport
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}}
|author=Richard Scarry
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{{Frontpage
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
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|title=Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Father Cat was taking the kids sailing, but it started to rain so they had to call it off. On the way home, though, they bump into Rudolph Von Flugel who suggests a detour to the airport as there’s lots of things to see and do there.
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|summary= Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her ''Everybody Potties!'' series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: ''Everybody Toots''!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007531133</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
|title=Let's Go, Baby-o!
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|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
|author=Janet McLean and Andrew McLean
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|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Hey! Baby has woken up in his cot and wants to play. Luckily his singing, dancing, jiggling and bouncing older cousin is there to spring him free and start the fun. They leap and chant and jump and sing. Meanwhile, in the garden, the rest of the family, the pets and the wildlife are having some drama of their own. Baby and his dancing cousin pause to look out the window. Their observations inspire them to move and sing again.
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|summary= ''Who Needs Nappies? Not Me!'' is the latest release in the ''Everybody Potties!'' series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. .
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1743361319</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|author=Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson
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|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
|title=I Will Eat The Moon (Tiny the Giant)
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|author=Peter Cotton
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=We [[I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson|first]] met Tiny when he was but a young giant and determined to prove that he was ''big''When all seemed lost he was proved to be right and the day (as well as his pride) was savedThis time he's taken on an even bigger task.  He knows that giants need big things to eat and he's got his eyes on the moonActually, he's licking his lips, but it doesn't impress the moon...
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|summary=Meet FredWell, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quicklyBut I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about Fred.  Fred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him.  He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walk.  And that was where the problem startedFred didn't have any road sense. Or brakes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B00JCZS6Y6</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=Convertible Spaceship
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|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
|author=Claire Philip and Belinda Gallagher
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|rating=4
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=When is a book, not a book?  When it is also a playmat and also a spaceship.  With ‘Convertible Spaceship’ you get all three; a book that folds out into a playmat or into a spaceship.  Can I hear the excitement from here?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782094970</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Love Monster and the Last Chocolate
 
|author=Rachel Bright
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Love Monster has been away on holiday, and he's just come home with that 'holiday's over' feeling, only to find that someone has left a large box of chocolates on his front doorstep!  Who left them there?  And why?  And would it be okay to eat them by himself or, actually, should he really be sharing them with his friends?
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|summary= Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky?  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007540302</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=Never ask a Dinosaur to Dinner
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|title=No, No, No!
|author=Gareth Edwards and Guy Parker-Rees
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I don't expect you've ever thought about asking a dinosaur to dinner.  In case it ever crosses your mind to do so, this helpful book informs you of the probable consequences of such a rash action. It will also prove helpful should you be thinking about using a tiger as a towel or, heaven forbid, if you wondered if it would be okay to share your toothbrush with a shark!
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|summary=They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407136933</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
|author=Stephen Cheetham
 
|title=Off to the Park!
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=It's a nice day and we're off to the park.  Shoes on first - tie the laces - and then we're off down the street.  We go over the road by the crossing (press the button, please) and open the gate into the park.  It's a metal gate and we can feel the cold of the metal and hear the squeak as the gate opens and we're on to the gravel path.  It's a long, winding path and we can hear the stones scrunch.  But there's plenty to play with here, from kicking a ball around to going on the swings and climbing the steps so that we can come down the slide.  There's even a tyre to swing on - and when we've played for ''ages'' there's sure to be an ice cream to enjoy.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846435021</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
|title=Chocolate Porridge (Early Reader)
 
|author=Margaret Mahy and Terry Milne
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Young Timothy has been drummed out of his mother's kitchen by her and his sisters, so he cannot join in with their baking. Instead he goes to the garden and devises chocolate porridge – a lot of mud, plus some other ingredients. But only when he's happy with his craft does he begin to realise that not even calling mud chocolate porridge makes it edible.  Oh what is a boy to do?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444011308</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside.
|title=Barbapapas New House
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|isbn=1638820457
|author=Annette Tison and Talus Taylor
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=At the end of the [[Barbapapa's Voyage by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor|last Barbapapa book]], our pink protagonist and his lovely wife were blessed with the addition of seven new shape-shifting Barbababies. A house that was already cramped for a couple was literally bursting at the seams as the family of nine squeezed and squashed themselves into every available crevice. Something had to give; the walls collapsed and out spilled the unfortunate family.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140833139X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=194812467X
|title=Where Are You Banana?
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|title=The Farm Shop
|author=Sofie Laguna and Craig Smith (Illustrator)
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|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Banana.  It may not be the most obvious name for a dog but it’s the name of Roddy’s pet.  Apparently it was Roddy’s first word, spoken, by coincidence, when the new pup arrived. A tad precocious and serendipitous as first utterances go but I’m going to let that one slip as, dog name aside, 'Where Are You, Banana?' contains some delicious observations of family life captured in both written and painted form.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1743361629</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Mungo Monkey has a Birthday Party
 
|author=Lydia Monks
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=It’s Mungo Monkey’s birthday which means…Party Time! From baking a cake to blowing up balloons, he’s so excited to get things organised and ready for when his friends arrive.
+
|summary=Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405268662</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
What will they buy?
|title=What's Your Favourite Animal
 
|author=Eric Carle
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=I love that this book is written by ''Eric Carle and friends''. There’s something rather lovely about the idea of a group of authors and illustrators, hanging out and deciding to collaborate on a project together. Unlike the usual two-person job, though, where the result is typically as seamless as if it came from a single pen, this is an eclectic mix of pages that very clearly come from various minds. Let me explain.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406356514</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0995647895
|title=Bear and Hare Go Fishing
+
|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
|author=Emily Gravett
+
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
|rating=5
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Bear and Hare are friends who like to do activities together, and since Bear REALLY loves fishing, that’s what they’re doing today. But will Bear catch a fish…or something else?
+
|summary=Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230745393</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Eleanor Updale and Sarah Horne
 
|title=Itch Scritch Scratch
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary='''Warning: This Book Will Get Under Your Skin'''
 
  
Well, that's what it says on the back of the book and I can promise that it's trueYou might like to wear a pair of those cotton mittens for babies whilst you readIt will feel awkward, but you'll feel the benefit, honestlyBut - I'm getting ahead of myself.  You want to know about the bookIt's a family story - and the family in question are head lice.
+
''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781122946</amazonuk>
+
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
 +
''To the Maritime Museum''.  
 +
   
 +
Her imagination was firedShe'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularlyOne day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shoutWhen she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure.
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1782227741
|author=Michael Morpurgo and Ross Collins
+
|title=Little Gold Ted
|title=All I Said Was
+
|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=Our young friend looked up at the window and saw a pigeon balancing on the window sill and our young friend had a thought. ''I'd like to be you,'' he said, dreaming of flying off to anywhere that he liked.  The pigeon was quite happy to change places: lying on the bed reading a book seemed like a good idea, so the two changed places.  Our young hero thought it was great as he flew off towards the sea:
 
 
''I want to be a bird all my life''.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781123489</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Hector and the Big Bad Knight
 
|author=Alex T Smith
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=All is not well in the happy village of Spottybottom as the Big, Bad Knight has stolen Granny’s magic wand. Hector wants to help his Granny get her wand back but there is a problem because Hector is the tiniest boy in the village and the thief is quite possibly the biggest and the baddest knight around. However, perhaps Granny should not despair because Hector has a plan!
+
|summary=One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself  down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. ''OH HELP ME PLEASE'' he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407138480</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|title=Watch Out for the Crocodile
+
|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|author=Lisa Moroni and Eva Eriksson
+
|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Little Tora is going on a very special trip with her Dad. Trekking, camping and animal spotting are on Tora’s agenda. No more work, coffee drinking or talking on his mobile for Dad. Well, perhaps not much talking on his mobile anyway.  First though, there is some boring stuff; buying supplies at the supermarket and making the long car journey to the forest. When will they start to have fun? And where are those wild animals?  A little bit of imagination is called for from both father and daughter to make the trip a memorable one.
+
|summary=Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down ''again''. The school bully Jayden, together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877579890</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1471191303
|title=Cuckoo!
+
|title=The Invisible
|author=Fiona Roberton
+
|author=Tom Percival
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=We do love Fiona Roberton's books in our house, a passion that started with [[Wanted: The Perfect Pet by Fiona Roberton|Wanted: The Perfect Pet]]This new story, about fat little cuckoo, is just as delightful as her others, and one that I've sneakily read without the children, once or twice, just so that I can properly enjoy it by myself!
+
|summary=This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big differenceIsobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444912615</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
 +
 
 +
The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy.  Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city.  This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible.
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|title=Pom and Pim
+
|title=One Night in Beartown
|author=Lena Landstrom and Olaf Landstrom
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When Pom and Pim go out for the day things start off well, but bad luck comes their way. Can they look on the bright side of every situation, even when they feel tripped up time and time again?
+
|summary= Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877579661</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Oi Frog!
 
|author=Kes Gray and Jim Field
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Normally I would shy away from any book rhyming frog with log and cat with hat and hare with chair...normally it would fill me with a sense of dread to be faced with such a 'poem' to read.  This time, however, I make an exception, because ''Oi Frog!'' is very funny and definitely worth a read, and again, and again!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>144491085X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]
|title=Extra Yarn
 
|author=Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=When Annabelle finds a box of yarn, she uses it to knit a jumper. There’s some left so she knits her dog a jumper too. And then one for the boy next door. And one for his dog. And still there’s yarn left over. So she goes on and on. She knits jumpers for everyone she knows and then starts knitting for things that don’t even need jumpers. Pretty soon her dark, dreary town is transformed!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406352489</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:24, 2 December 2023

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Review of

Murray and Bun by Adam Stower

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do… Full Review

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Review of

The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon by Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)

4star.jpg For Sharing

When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute. Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them. He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils. (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.) Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped. They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny. Full Review

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Review of

On the Beach: The Winter Visitor by Chris Green and Jenny Fionda

5star.jpg For Sharing

Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline. On top of the ice was a polar bear. As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice. Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another. He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do? Full Review

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Review of

Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice. He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmother. She had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends. At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be. Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different. Full Review

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Review of

The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past. Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult. One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home. Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it. Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it. Full Review

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Review of

The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

5star.jpg For Sharing

Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination. She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her. She even had her own room - all to herself. Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning. Full Review

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Review of

Squeakily Baby by Beth Webb

4star.jpg For Sharing

Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby. He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and wails. The sea offers to help. It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing hush, hush. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - la lou, la lay... And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes. Then a seagull shouts and we know exactly what's going to happen next. Full Review

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Review of

A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant by Briony May Smith

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Philippa Pheasant was tired of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road. She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself. Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious. All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight. Full Review

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Review of

Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn

4star.jpg For Sharing

Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes. Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck. It's perfect, isn't it? What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, though. Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up. The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore. Full Review

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Review of

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliott

4star.jpg For Sharing

I love a good board book! Bumblebee Grumblebee is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can play with words and make something quite different from each one. We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a balletphant. The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a fluffalo. The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a crynoceros (think about it!) The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a sm....... OK, let's not go there Some people are eating! Full Review

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Review of

Carried Away With the Carnival by Ed Boxall

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It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun. A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:

It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand. Full Review

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Review of

Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare by Cordellya Smith

4star.jpg For Sharing

When the world was made, the animals were given gifts. Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector. Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn. Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present and the future. Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well. He liked to trick other animals. He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle. You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see. Things are not always as they seem. I'll tell you how it came about. Full Review

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Review of

Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees! by Rob Keeley

4star.jpg For Sharing

Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily. Full Review

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Review of

You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!) by Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.


And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that she can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it! Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her Everybody Potties! series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: Everybody Toots! Full Review

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Review of

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Seema Amjad

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! is the latest release in the Everybody Potties! series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. . Full Review

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Review of

When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended by Peter Cotton

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Meet Fred. Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly. But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about Fred. Fred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him. He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walk. And that was where the problem started. Fred didn't have any road sense. Or brakes. Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky? Full Review

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Review of

No, No, No! by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.

No, No, No! is based around the simplest text imaginable.

No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.

That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside. Full Review

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Review of

The Farm Shop by Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic

4star.jpg For Sharing

Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.

What will they buy? Full Review

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Review of

Sadie and the Sea Dogs by Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.

Her class had gone one rainy afternoon
When all the houses cowered in the gloom,
To the Maritime Museum.

Her imagination was fired. She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly. One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout. When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure. Full Review

1782227741.jpg

Review of

Little Gold Ted by Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha

4star.jpg For Sharing

One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. OH HELP ME PLEASE he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth. Full Review

B08R7LXQ9S.jpg

Review of

Remy: A book about believing in yourself by Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal

4star.jpg For Sharing

Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down again. The school bully Jayden, together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened. Full Review

1471191303.jpg

Review of

The Invisible by Tom Percival

5star.jpg For Sharing

This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big difference. Isobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:

Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.

The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy. Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city. This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible. Full Review

B08NFH7H9X.jpg

Review of

One Night in Beartown by Nick Jones and Si Clark

4star.jpg For Sharing

Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper! Full Review

Move on to Newest General Fiction Reviews